I was thinking with mad cow disease the farmers chopped up the hooves and feed them back to the cows right?

Well what about Bee's are we giving any thing back to the bee's that they give to us? I was thinking Pollen. thats about it, Could it be wax?

What are some new Chemicals used on the hives for pesticides?

The research is uncertain right now as to the cause. It could be anything from genectics, parasites, or chemicles. It could be a combo of them or it could be none of them. The problem right now is all the speculation does is feed the FUD(Fear Uncertainty Doubt).

Sincerely,Brendhan

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The entire beeswax supply is contaminated with Fluvalinate (Apistan) and Cumaphos (Check mite) both of which are lipophilic (love fat or wax) and build up in the wax supply, which is then used to make foundation.

Someone on another board suggested it might be that they are trying to kill the mosquitoes because of West Nile and maybe the bees are drinking from water that is being poisoned to kill the mosquitoes.

So it it beginning to look like a case of stressed migratory bees being unable to fight off the fungi that causes stonebrood. I would be interested to know if this fungi is always present in hives, or if the affected migratory bees were all used in the same geographic region and picked it up there. Anyway, most of us need not worry about this.

I have to find the source of this but on the same forum some one posted this

Quote

The neonicotinioids, for example imidacloprid, are a rather new class of pesticides.the EPA identifies these chemicals as highly toxic to honey bees. "Clothianiden is highly toxic to honey bees on an acute basis (LD50>0.0439 mg/bee). It has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other non-target pollinator through the translocation of clothianidine resides in nectar and pollen. In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal and/or sub-lethal effect in the larvae and reproductive effects on the queen". [EPA Fact Sheet on Clothianiden]. Some researchers have not found this effect but most were looking for mortality and not chronic or behavioral effect. In addition, a study in NC found that some of these neonictinoids in combination with certain fungicides, synergized to increase the toxicity of the neonicotinoid over 1,000 fold in lab studies. Both the neonicotinoids and the fungicides (Terraguard and Procure) are use widely.

Recent research tested crops where seed was treated with imidacloprid. The chemical was present, by systemic uptake, in corn, sunflowers and rape pollen in levels high enough to pose a threat to honey bees. Additional research has found that imidacloprid impairs the memory and brain metabolism of bees, particularly the area of the brain that is used for making new memories.

Implication: If bees are eating fresh or stored pollen contaminated with these chemicals at low levels, they may not cause mortality but may impact the beeâ€™s ability to learn or make memories. If this is the case, young bees leaving the hive to make orientation flights may not be able to learn the location of the hive and may not be returning causing the colonies to dwindle and eventually die. It is also possible that this is not the sole cause of the dwindling but one of several factors contributing factors.

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"I have never wished to cater to the crowd, for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not know." - Epicurus.

So it it beginning to look like a case of stressed migratory bees being unable to fight off the fungi that causes stonebrood. I would be interested to know if this fungi is always present in hives, or if the affected migratory bees were all used in the same geographic region and picked it up there. Anyway, most of us need not worry about this.

good report, and there are some things i would do after having read it.

i would avoid doing things that stress the hive. if we follow the most likely line of thought at the moment, and the culprit is opportunistic, we can reduce our chances of having take hold in our hives by not giving it an opening.

if i were to lose a hive, i would not reuse the supers/frames, or at least the foundation. if i were to re-use the boxes and frames, i would certainly use proven methods for removing fungus and bacteria. (understanding that these are not fool proof)

if i found a hive severely compromised, i would not combine it with another hive without knowing why the 1st was in trouble.

and most of all....keep up with the research!!!

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